Wichita eagle., 1887-08-17
AN AFRICAN EXECUTION.
BISHOP TAYLOR'S ADVENTURES IN
THE CONGO STATE.

he CONGO StHlE.
Novel Horrors Connected with the Pun.
ishment of Native Criminal-A Medi-
cine Mans Test for Witchcraft-Tor-
turing Victim.
Two or three weeks before the bishops ar
rival man died in the village, and, as is fire.
quently the case, the medicine man had been
summoned to declare what or rather who had
been the cause Of it. The doctor, after the
usual demonstrations, oracular utterances,
frenZied dancing and other tomfoolery, had
fixed the responsibility for the death upon a
captain of the tribe. The truth undoubtedly
was that this captain had done something to
offend the doctor, who took this way of get
ting even The captain was brought before
the king and charged with the crime Of be-
witching the deceased. He denied the charge
and was then ordered to drink cup of a kind
OF tea made from the sasswood tree. 1t is
deadly poisonous mixture. The medicine
men tell the king that If a man who is guilty
drinks of it, he will die; but an innocent man
will not be harmed. Whoever drinks of
course dies Immediately in terrible agony,
and the prestige of the doctor is heightened
accordingly.
The captain in this instance refused to
drink the tea He was sent away from the
kings presence for a day or two pending
further consideration of the case, but that
very night he was shot by an unknown man
In his house. After six days of suffering the
captain died. His friends besought the repre-
sentative of the free state government to in
terfere, but he hesitated. He was new to his
position and dared not take very decided
measures. So the king Of the tribe has be-
stirred himself. The dead captain had been a
favorite Of his and the accusation of the doc
tor had disturbed his majesty. Now that the
captain had been murdered he determined to
punish the criminal A man was arrested
and tried for the crime and found guilty.
He was, of course, condemned to death.
NOVEL PUNISHMENT.
When the bishop arrived the hole in the
market place had been completed. 1t
was somewhat large and deeper than ali
ordinary grave. The object that had at
tracted the attention of half of the crowd
was the condemned man himself He sat
on the ground with his hands tied be-
hind his back. Seven feet in front Of
him was a young tree that had been
bent toward him. The top of the
tree had been cut away, SO that a fork made
by the two main branches remained ON the
slender trunk The condemned mans neck
was put in this fork and the ends of the line
were made fast behind his head The tension
of the tree kept a constant strain on his
throat, not enough to strangle him, but
enough to be painful and to prevent him
from making any motion. He had been sit
ting thus for hours watching the preparations
for his execution and enduring the gaze Of
hundreds of the villagers. Not far away the
king, dressed in gorgeously colored robe,
sat experimenting the operations. The work
progressed in due order, but without the
ceremonious solemnity that characterizes an
execution in Christian countries The king
gave his instructions when he chose to inter-
fere to subordinate, who transferred them to
the captain in charge of the workers at the
hole
When the diggers climbed out and laid aside
their shovels there was a slight pause, and the
crowd gathered closer to the excavation.
Presently the king uttered command in a
loud voice and several ssbordinates actually
began the work of execution. They first cut
off the tree in front of the captives neck,
leaving the prongs of the fork still tied about
it. Up to this time he had preserved stoical
but at that moment he weakened
and trembled. He cast a piteous glance to-
ward the king and looked all around him
wildly. One of the executioners hastened
matters by pushing him into the hole. He
fell in heap on the bottom, and three men
went in after him. They placed him on his
feet, and while one held him steady the others
began to pack dirt about his feet. The work
men left on the brink of the hole, carefully
shoveled the earth that had been dug up back
again, and the men inside continued the pack
ing process.
PERFECTLY HORRIBLE.
The victim writhed and screamed terribly
rs the work proceeded, and a gag was inserted
in his mouth 10 still his cries The people
with morbid curiosity crowded to the edge of
the hole, even to the point of interfering with
the worhmen, and squad of warriors in
armor drove them back. The men in the
hole stamped the earth hard all about the
victim until it was up to his waist. They
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